Introduction to Ayurveda I

Ayurveda - The Science of Life

Ayurved is the Sanskrit term for the ancient Indian medical system, which is practiced all over the world as a complementary or alternative health care. The word Ayurveda itself consists of two parts 'Ayu' and 'Veda'. Veda comes from 'vid' which means to understand or to know. Thus Ayurved is something that can be used to know or to understand 'Ayu'. The second word 'Ayu' literally means life. According to ancient Indian philosophical sciences 'Ayu' means synergy of four factors body, mind, soul and senses. It is easy to infer that 'Ayu' is a pleasant state of the body and the mind. To achieve and maintain this state of well being is the primary purpose of Ayurveda.

Ayurveda is a time-tested medical system which originated about 5000 years ago. It has its own theory of health, illnesses, the causes of illness and remedies to those illnesses. It basically emphasizes on living in harmony with the nature.

How can Ayurveda help you?

Today our day-to-day life is a lot more stressful than it was in the ancient times. Our lifestyle has diverted away from nature because of industrialization and technological advances along with our need to cope up with these factors. A large number of physical and psychological disorders have been emerging, many of which are currently incurable. Ayurveda has a lot to offer in these situations.

First of all, Ayurveda considers each individual unique, with a specific constitution of body, mind and soul. Based on the constitution, Ayurveda provides specific guidelines about activities such as diet, sleeping, daily routine, seasonal regime and exercise. This helps to keep a good balance of body constituents (The Doshas namely Vata, Pitta and Kapha), which ultimately helps prevention of sickness. For ongoing health problems Ayurveda offers extremely personalized and thorough health management which includes plant-based herbal medications that are free of chemicals, nutritional supplements, detoxification therapies (panchakarma), exercise regimen and a healthy daily and seasonal routine. Often these health plans can be successfully combined with yoga and pranayama techniques.

The factors such as age (whether an infant or an elderly person), special conditions such as pregnancy and postpartum period are no bar to Ayurvedic health management. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), a branch of National Institute of Health (NIH) also recognizes Ayurveda as one of the oldest medical systems. NCCAM has published article on principles and significance of Ayurveda